LeftHand Joins Unifor

Metro Vancouver’s LeftHand Media Co-op pleased to be first workplace unionized under Unifor, Canada’s newest and largest union

An historic alliance was announced this past weekend in Toronto. Two of the country’s more sizable unions, Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers of Canada, merged and became Unifor. The first worksite unionized under Unifor will be the west coast’s LeftHand Media Co-operative.

“We’re delighted to be the first workplace in the nation brought under the Unifor umbrella,” said Darien Edgeler, the co-op’s employees bargaining team member.

According to Edgeler, CEP’s Local 433 had been assisting LHMC with their organizing efforts, and the co-op gained official union recognition at almost precisely the same time that the Unifor coalition was finalized.

“The two events occurring simultaneously was a serendipitous coincidence,” explained Edgeler. “We are honoured and excited to be the first worksite sheltering beneath Unifor’s wing; the amalgamation of CAW and CEP is a momentous development in the Canadian labour movement, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

Rob Hellenius, the co-op’s president, suggests that Unifor’s size and influence will enable it to effectively defend and promote the rights of not only its own members, but all workers across the country and around the world.

“We are ecstatic that we are now in a position, as the newest member of the Unifor family, to contribute to these efforts,” Hellenius went on to say.

LeftHand Media Co-operative, now in its second year of operation, specializes in producing online media (e.g. websites, social media) and strategic communication products for unions and other socially progressive groups.